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Congressional Members Susan Davis and Scott Peters to hold Save Our Health” press event Sunday to share concerns over repeal
East County News Service
January 13, 2017 (Washington D.C.) – In the dead of the night while most Americans were sleeping, the Senate voted 51-48 to repeal the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) even though no replacement plan has been introduced. That leaves 300,000 people in San Diego County poised to lose their healthcare. More than 900,000 others receive health care through Medi-Cal, many of whom became eligible through the ACA and could be left with no coverage potentially as soon as later this month, when President-Elect Donald Trump takes office, if he signs a repeal into law.
The measure still needs approval by the House, but with overwhelming support by Republicans in control, it’s expected to sail through. Even many Republicans are raising doubts over whether any replacement plan could be enacted in time to prevent loss of coverage, how much coverage would cost, or whether some would be left uncovered by a future GOP plan.
San Diego Democratic Congressional members Susan Davis and Scott Peters will hold a “Save Our Healthcare” press event on Sunday, January 15th from 1 p.m. to 1:30 at Sharp Memorial Outpatient Pavilion, 3075 Health Center Drive, San Diego. (view map)
They will be joined by health care leaders and consumers concerned about repeal of the ACA. Local health officials will speak to how our local health system would be hurt. Constituents of Davis and Peters will talk about how the Affordable Care Act has helped them and what a repeal would mean for them.
Speakers include:
Dan Gross, Executive VP Hospital Operations, Sharp HealthCare
Vernita Todd, Senior VP External Affairs, Health Center Partners
Timothy Mork, Resident of the 53rd Congressional District
Stefani McMahon and her three-year-old daughter, residents of the 52nd Congressional District
The budget resolution approved by the Senate passed with every Republican voting in favor, and not a single Democrat. California Senator Kamala Harris voted against; Senator Dianne Feinstein did not vote.
Democrats tried furiously to amend the resolution to soften the potential blow for over 20 million Americans poised to lose healthcare benefits. The “vote-o-rama” session saw Republicans refuse to approve amendments such as one proposed by Senator Bernie Sanders that would have allowed importation of more affordable prescription drugs from Canada. Other Democratic proposed amendments would have boosted funding for rural hospitals and women’s access to healthcare.
The House could pass the measure approved by the Senate as early as today, with President Trump capable of signing it into law as early as January 20th, after he is inaugurated.
The action cuts off all funding for the Affordable Care Act. While technically it doesn’t repeal every provision, such as keeping young people on parents’ policies until age 25, without the mandate for coverage that brings in premium revenues, the entire ACA program would be unsustainable.
Because the measure is a budget reconciliation measure, Democrats have no way to block it, since even a filibuster is not allowed.
Among the most powerful testimony against the measure came from disabled Iraq War veteran Tammy Duckworth, who said, “I stand on prosthetic legs to vote no!”
Critics of Obamacare have pointed to inadequate reimbursements for some physicians, object to force mandates for coverage, and rising premiums for some middle class constituents. These are legitimate criticisms. But polls have shown most Americans want to see problems with the ACA fixed—not a repeal of the good along with the bad.
House Speaker Paul Ryan has said he wants a replacement “concurrently” with full repeal of the ACA. But despite four years of Republican control in the House under President Obama and dozens of then-unsuccessful repeal votes, the GOP has never announced a detailed plan for replacement.
At a townhall the next day, Speaker Ryan was confronted by a veteran who said he was a lifelong Republican who used to oppose Obamacare, until he got cancer and got an ACA policy which he credits with saving his life.
Main Representative Susan Collins has said she sees no possibility of a comprehensive reform bill being passed within the next month, meaning repeal would leave millions of Americans with no healthcare coverage at all – a death sentence for people with critical healthcare conditions such as cancer.
Republican Senator Ron Johnson has likened the situation to having a “bridge that’s about ready to collapse” and cites a need to repair it, not blow it up.
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